Non-constructive Galois-Tukey connections (Q4382468)

Most cardinal characteristics of the continuum lie between \(\aleph_1\) and \(2^{\aleph_0}\), hence the theory of such characteristics is of interest only when CH fails. The reviewer [in ``Generalized Galois-Tukey connections between explicit relations on classical objects of real analysis'', Israel Math. Conf. Proc. 6, 619-643 (1993; Zbl 0829.03027)] introduced a framework where cardinal characteristics are associated with binary relations. The proof of inequalities between cardinal characteristics usually amount to the construction of a suitable pair of functions between the domains and the ranges of the corresponding relations. Pairs of such functions are called Galois-Tukey connections (GTC) and we say that this GTC is a witness for an inequality. Nevertheless the hope that the study of GTC will be reasonable also under CH shattered due to the result of O. Yiparaki showing that under CH there are many GTC witnessing inequalities which are not true in ZFC. The main reason is that these GTC are highly nonconstructive. The first step in the study of Borel (constructive) GTC was made by \textit{A. Blass} [in ``Reductions between cardinal characteristics of the continuum'', Contemp. Math. 192, 31-49 (1996; Zbl 0838.03036)]. He conjectured that there are inequalities (equalities) provable in ZFC without any Borel GTC witnessing this. In the paper under review the author proves this conjecture, namely that there is neither Borel nor Baire measurable GTC between sharp splitting relations (whereas cardinal characteristics of these are proved to be equal to \({\mathfrak s}\) and \({\mathfrak r}\) in ZFC).